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Thursday, July 29, 2010

An Important Announcement from Ignatius Press

POPE'S NEW BOOK on JESUS
to be PUBLISHED by IGNATIUS PRESS

Second volume of Jesus of Nazareth to be
released in Spring 2011

SAN FRANCISCO, July 29, 2010 – Pope Benedict XVI's second volume
of "Jesus of
Nazareth"--"From His Transfiguration to His Death and
Resurrection"--will be published in English by Ignatius Press, according
to an
agreement between Ignatius Press and the Vatican's Publishing House,
Libreria
Editrice Vaticana (LEV).

"We are eagerly awaiting Volume II because it will contain
the Holy Father's reflections on the central mysteries of our faith: the
Passion, Death, and Resurrection," says Ignatius Press Founder and
Editor, Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio. Father Fessio is a former student
of Pope
Benedict.

The sequel volume is expected to address such controversial questions
as: who was responsible for Jesus' death? Did Jesus establish the Church
to
carry on his work? How did he view his suffering and death? How should
we? And,
most importantly, did Jesus really rise from the dead?

"Jesus remains controversial," notes Ignatius Press
President Mark Brumley. "Christians believe he is the Son of God, the
founder
of the Church, and the Savior of the world. For non-Christians, Jesus is
almost
anything else – a myth, a revolutionary, or a prophet whose teaching was
misunderstood or distorted by his followers."

Benedict XVI insists Jesus is the Son of God, yet the Pope acknowledges
that opinion is divided. He brings
readers face-to-face with the challenge of Jesus. What to make of a real
man
who taught and acted in ways tantamount to claims of divine authority?
Believers
and unbelievers alike must come to their own judgment about Jesus and
what he
means for them. The second volume of "Jesus of Nazareth" will help them
to do
so.

Ignatius Press is the primary English-language publisher of
the works of Pope Benedict XVI/Joseph Ratzinger.

For more information about "Jesus of Nazareth: From His
Transfiguration to His Death and Resurrection," or to schedule an
interview
with Fr. Joseph Fessio or Mark Brumley, please contact Christine
Schicker with
the Maximus Group at 404-610-8871.

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Comments

I found the first volume wonderful and await this one eagerly. It is not a huge surprise but really great news if Ignatius will be the first publisher this time. Will it be in hardcover first and then softcover later on? Why was Ignatius not the first publisher for the previous volume--was there not great enough distribution capacity at that time? Or outbid by Doubleday for the rights, or?

I do not believe that the New York Times or LA Times ever reviewed the first volume. This has puzzled me since the book is newsworthy, presses directly on the "hot button" issue of religion (usually of much interest to the New York Times Book Review section), and is of substantial intellectual importance. I have no idea of how the politics of what gets reviewed and what does not works, but I'm guessing that if the first volume was not reviewed the second won't be either. I would like though to see the second volume reviewed by the mainstream press, even if the reviews are negative. Secular efforts to engage and challenge the Pope's ideas make for interesting reading, in my opinion. I presume that a NYT review would also substantially help sales.

Bryan, it's pretty big news for the press. Maybe you didn't realize the last version (hard cover) was *not* published by Ignatius, which is pretty much a usurpation of its prior relationship with Ratzinger, before he became pope. It also means it's in the hands of a Catholic, and not secular, publisher, which is pretty significant.

But, yes, it certainly *was* called in the com box in that previous post.

This is awesome news for Ignatius Press. I'm very glad to hear it. I thought that the first volume of Jesus of Nazareth was excellent (and a much easier read than the few other Ratzinger books that I have read, or at least started reading). I look forward to the second volume.

The book will be released first in hardcover and sometime later in softcover. Pretty standard arrangement, that. I think this is going to be a very important book. Pope Benedict takes scripture scholarship seriously. He is no fundamentalist. At the same time, he recognizes the many serious shortcoming of a historical-critical-only-reductionist approach.

It will be fascinating to read Benedict XVI on the passion, death, and resurrection of the Lord, and all the controversies surrounding these great salvific events.